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Wednesday, August 31, 2011

A funny thing happened this late winter. One friend, then another, and another, along with myself and even others, decided to grow some vegetables from seed. I blame the cold, dark, gray Ohio winter.

Sometime around late February, I found myself at a local nursery, salivating over the seed packets. The thought of growing fresh produce seemed like a crazy fantasy, what with it being freezing cold outside and all.

I bought some seeds, some soil-less grow mix, even constructed a tray under a florescent light so my seedlings could have sufficient light and my neighbors would wonder what I was growing in the basement. I dutifully misted them daily, checking on their progress.

A few weeks into my seed growing experiment my friend Erin sweetly shared some Heirloom Teardrop Yellow Tomato seeds. I added them to the growing seedlings, but truth be told, by the time they made their way into the soil, they were the puniest of my puny seedlings.

These puny little seedlings have grown to over 7, yes 7 feet tall. An adjacent pine tree is serving as the perfect support for these two tomato plants which are producing freshly yellowed pear-shaped tomatoes daily.

While they are just perfect for popping in your mouth, G and I came up with a fresh salsa recipe using the yellow tomatoes. We call it Sunshine Salsa, and I'm sure I'll be thinking of it come next February.

Monday, August 29, 2011

First, a big shout-out to all my many East Coast family and friends. We were thinking of you all late last week and into the weekend, gathering updates from North Carolina to Boston, and everywhere in between. Thankfully, as I type, it seems that things are relatively better than expected.

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We're starting the first full week of school this week with R as a 2nd grader. Last week was a fun start to school for R, but it was, truth be told, a bit of an adjustment. R came home exhausted each day, G was bursting at the seams each day to play with his best-brother-buddy R and I was thrust into remembering how going back to school can be an, eh-em, transition for us all.

G was sad each morning that R was leaving for school without him. R came home, needing a little down-time, and G was not happy that R wasn't jumping up and down to see him too. So all of us enjoyed a low-key weekend to regroup and gear up before this week began.

One side note from this weekend that made me smile and sentimental: my parents gave me back the old dollhouse I used to meticulously decorate and design. It hasn't been played with in nearly 20 years, and it is showing its age. Not sure when I will get time to repaint the walls or hang dollhouse wallpaper, but in the meantime, I am glad it is seeing some use:

Thursday, August 25, 2011

My cousin Jill is due annnny day now with baby #2. Already a fantastic mom to sweet baby boy I (okay, technically a toddler, but we've been calling him "Baby I" for nearly two years now, and habits are hard to break), Jill can't wait to meet her new little baby girl or boy.

Jill has earned the title "salsa queen" in my book. Last year she gave me the amazing Watermelon Salsa recipe I eat by the cupful. Honestly, if you haven't tried it, you must.

This year she shared a new take on a fruit salsa. This dessert-ish salsa is served with cinnamon sugar tortilla triangles (or buy cinnamon sugar pita chips) and is fairly addictive. You've been warned.

Monday, August 22, 2011

So after a long weekend of unpacking, laundry and trying to get all the school forms in order after being gone for 13 days, we're celebrating "Back to School Eve." Today the boys are having a lazy morning, we're meeting some good friends for a picnic lunch and tonight R has chosen the meal for dinner (salmon, scallops, twice baked potatoes, okra and mango).

School starts tomorrow!

While we were away, we experimented with some new lunch ideas for R's lunch box. Our favorite?

Roll-'em-out, Roll-'em-up Lunch Rolls.

This simple idea evolved from the fact that sometimes the tortillas we use for our Taco Roll-ups split and crack (simply warming the tortilla for about 10 seconds in the microwave before rolling helps).

Last week though, we wanted to try some roll-ups at Grandma and Papa's house, but didn't have enough tortillas. The solution? Use bread!

Get out your rolling pin:

Roll until flat:

Layer on your ingredients (we were making a hummus garden roll-up, but any flat toppings work great!):

Roll and slice:

A simple idea, but the bread really worked well, and held much better than tortillas.

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So after a nearly two week hiatus from my kitchen, I am gearing up for a week of cooking!

Monday, August 8, 2011

R, G, Sweet Pea Grandma and I are at Chautauqua for our annual visit to this most special place. R is enjoying his first year of Boy's Club, G his second year of Children's School and Me? I am loving the slow, refreshing pace.

Should I take the rest of the week off from blogging? I think I shall.

After all, this week I celebrate the 4th Anniversary of Sweet Peas and Pumpkins. I'll be back next week to rev up for back-to-school.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

The best recipes in the world are tried and true and tweaked until tasty.This recipe is from my good friend Jenn, who with her husband Brian, have cooked up some of the best meals on record.I took Jenn’s recipe and added a new twist:roasting the tomatillos.I took this dip to our family reunion this weekend and I had multiple, “can you share this recipe?” requests.

Tomatillos resemble green tomatoes wrapped in a husk.They are bright in flavor with a little bit of a citrus edge to them.Roasting the tomatillos intensifies their flavor, just be sure to remove the husks first!

Perhaps the greatest thing about this dip is that it can be used in countless ways:as a salad dressing, as a sauce on top of grilled meat or fish, as a topping on baked potatoes, as a dip for cut up vegetables or tortilla chips, even as the sauce in my Taco Lasagna.

Monday, August 1, 2011

We’re back from a three night camping (okay, in a cabin, but that’s still camping, right?) trip with my mom’s side of the family.Hiking, roasting marshmallows, lots of exploring, swimming and just like every year, eating and more eating.

There were 27 of us this year, with 2 more on the way.Of the 10 cousins and cousins-to-be in R and G’s generation, there are/will be at least 8 boys.Sweet I is the only girl, and one of cousins-to-be is going to be a surprise, so at most, there will be 2 girls and 8 boys.The oldest cousin is 9, so these guys are getting to be really tight.I mean, nothing bonds hearts together than eating homemade popsicles in a kiddie pool, right?

(All the cousins, minus sweet Baby Boy I, who was napping)

While all the food was fabulous, my cousin J shared her recipe for homemade fruit salsa.It was addictive, and so healthful!I’ll share the recipe this week, along with the homemade cinnamon sugar tortilla chips she served as dippers.

My parents and our immediate family served up chicken and portabella fajitas for our meal, and thankfully we had some leftovers.It’s so wonderful to come back after being away and not have to worry about dinner preparation!Our meals this week:

About Me

It seems like a distant memory, but years ago I relished making involved, gourmet meals. Now my goal is to create healthy meals that appeal both to me and my husband and the palates of my two Sweet Pea boys. Journey with me through my victories and defeats.